One Fine Day
by Abducted Dib
Summary: Dib finally reveals Zim's identity.. but at the same time he is in trouble himself. How are they going to get themselves out of it? ((will) contain language, violence, ZADR planned)
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: Zim is not mine.. but cant I just borrow him for a while? 

author's note: Ah, I'm back, with yet another attempt at fanfiction... gosh why does my brain have so many ideas that I can't decide on just one and stick with it? Not to mention the Tallests fic I am going to start on soon... 

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Prologue

Dib leaned against the bathroom wall, struggling to catch his breath as quietly as he could. He whished so much not to be found by his stalkers. He closed his eyes tightly against the pain in his head, and at his side... luckily no one had seen him run into the desolate bathroom. He looked around at the room surrounding him... no wonder they hadn't followed him in here. 

The walls were tiled with dirty, putrid-yellow squares. The sinks were out of order and the soap dispensers were stolen. Only one urinal remained looking _almost_ usable. The toilet seats were stolen, the walls were vandalized, even the mirrors had writing on them... well between the cracks in the glass anyway. Dib glanced down at the floor, cringing in disgust he moved himself away from a mysterious yellow puddle oozing its way over from a urinal that was half-ripped out of the wall. 

'I can't believe this,' he thought to himself silently as he put one hand over his temple. His head was throbbing from so much pain, it was hurting pretty bad this time. 'This just can't be happening...' he felt his legs give way underneath him as his routine thoughts ran through his head at top speed... questions of why and how emerged in his mind. He slid down the wall that he was using as support, his head becoming too much of a hassle to bear. He opened an eye slightly, but closed it immediately at the intrusion of light. 

'It was worse this time... and they saw me....' he continued his mental discussions... feeling the unsanitary cild against his body. 'They were supposed to be on my side...' he felt the warm tinge of unconsciousness slowly spread its way across his body, 'Father.. why?' he gives into the consuming comfort of escape, letting himself rest ont he floor, unkowing of the men right outside the door, waiting for that very moment.   
  


~6 months ago~  
  


Dib thought today would be just like any other day in his Hi Skool life. Just two weeks into his freshman year, and Zim was somehow in every single class of his.. it seemed to be this way every year since Zim's arrival. 

He worked his way into a crowded Japanese classroom, it had become a langauge that he was interrested in... Spanish just seemed so.. customary. He took his assigned seat at the front-left corner of the class... it was where he sat in most of his classes... his prefered seat since kindergarten. He glanced towards his right. There was Zim, looking as annoyed as ever. Grinning to himself, he wadded up a sheet of notebook paper and threw it towards the alien's head. 

Zim glared at him, why was the human always bothering him anyway? He picked up the paper and threw it right back at Dib who skillfully ducked out of the way. Growling to himself, he opened his mouth to speack just as the teacher made her way through the classroom. 

The rest of the day proceded normally... he even had his habitual lunchtime bickering with Zim. Well it started out as routine at least. Well, until Zim had went a little low in his insults, not to mention the fact that Torque had pushed him down to the ground by accident, causing him to cut his knees. 

Dib felt a strange sensation course though his body, a sensation of warmth surrounded his entire self and then released all at once. His vision blacked out and his balance went off. Wehn his vision returned, everyone around him was staring. Confused as to why he was the center of attention, he stood up slowly. The croud around him seemed to back away in what looked like fear as he did so... everyone except for Zim that is. 

"Wait, what happened?" For some reason, he felt exhaused, and his breath was shallow. He felt as though he had just run a marathon seconds before. 

"How did you do that, human?" Zim stared at him with a look he had never seen from him before. His eyes were wide adn he looked utterly shocked... perhaps even impressed. Dib could hear sirens in the distance. 

"How did I do what, Zim? What happened, why is everone looking at me?" 

"You mean to tell me you don't remember?" Zim raised a hairless eyebrow questioningly, "I seel. Well, I'll let you know.. this one time. You just knocked the bully boy over without touching him. I felt something push me back too... so truthfully, what kind of weapon do you have hidden?" 

"What? I.. I don't know what you're talking about..." Dib started to back away, looking around him in a nervous fashion. The sirens were getting louder... closer. He glared at Zim, "You did something to them, didn't you? You're trying to frame me!" 

"Don't be stupid, worm-baby. If it was from me, I wouldn't have asked you." 

"No... I couldn't have done something like that..." Dib looked down at Torque, who was still laid face down against the ground near him. His mind was racing so fast he couldn't even keep up with his own thoughts. Then he saw the cars that produced the siren sounds... they looked like cars from his father's worl. He looked back at Zim, who remained impassive. He gave Zim a pleading look. 

"What is it, human? Scared to be on the autopsy table?" 

Dib glared at him... and without a second thought, he reched over and pulled Zim's wig off to reveal a bald head with two antennae to the entire student population... not to mention the members inside the cars. 

Dib's eyes widened as realization hit him. He looked down at the wig in his had and back up to meet the enraged and... scared.. eyes of the uncovered Irken. 

Dib opened his mouth to stammer an apology, but he was cut short as the men in white coats began running towards them. He shook his jumbled head and told Zim to run, which they both did. Their efforts were short-lived however, as the student body rushed to help the men-in-white capture them.  
  


~Back to Present~  
  


Dib felt his head throbbing, and cold all around him... he must be back in his cell. After being so close to escape too. He heard a movement in the cell besides himself, 'That's strange... I never had a roomate before,' he thought to himself, keeping his eyes closed in fear of the brightness overwhelming his eyes that seemed to get more sensitive to the light by the day. He moved his hand over his forehead, noticing that his glasses were still on him, "Whose there?" He grumbled hoarsely from thirst. 

There was no answer from the other occupant of the cell. Dib sighed aloud and opened his eyes slightly to allow the artifivial light to seep in at a comfortable pace. When he got used to the light, he let his eyes move to the hunched figure int he corner of the cell... he gasped. 

"Zim, is that you..?" Dib found himself in a storm of emotions. He was glad to see someone he knew, but afraid that Zim would want revenge. He was sad because Zim seemed... different, and he was confused as to why he didn't feel the same hatred that he used to. He knew that they'd both been though a lot, and he knew that it was all his fault. 

The figure still gave no answer in return to Dib. He remained in his corner, unspeaking. He wasn't wearing a suit to look human, his antennae hung limp at the sides of his head. His eyes were set, staring at the ground. He too was feeling as though his emotions were in a blender. It was Dib's fault that he had gone through all of this pain... but at least Dib called him by his name... addressing him as a feeling being... understanding that he can feel pain. 

Dib crawled over to Zim cautiously, the ache in his head never leaving him. Dib was shocked to find Zim so tense. He noticed his arms looked as though incisions were made into them. Dib looked the alien over, counding the cuts on him that he could see, each of them looking as though it had been done by a precise medical instrument... twenty-seven visible. 

"What happened to you?" 

Dib nearly jumped back at the sudden response. Zim glared up at him, "You ask me that like you don't know. You know damn well what happened to me... exactly what you wanted." 

"You've been stopped, that's all that I really wanted. These cuts, where did they come from?" 

"Liar. You told me yourself, time and again, how you wanted my organs strewn across an autopsy table, don't even deny it..." 

"I," Dib stammered, "I said those things. But it was a blind threat, a way to intimidate you into stopping you invasion... You don't think I _really_ wanted you to be chopped up, do you? I mean.. it was tempting with the way you acted sometimes..." 

"Either way, you got what you wanted..." 

"They didn't really do that, did they?" 

"No, they didn't. An autopsy would have required my death..." Dib remained silent as Zim faced him and moved closer, "They weren't that kind... Imagine laying on a table," Zim pushed the fearful looking Din onto his back roughly, putting a clawed and de-gloved finger over his chest, in the center. "A knife being pushed," to emphasize his point, Zim pressed his finger down hard, "Right into your skin... you're awake during all this of course. Then while you're seeing this on a screen, they point and have the nerve to even ask what each organ is called..." 

"They _did_ that to you?" Dib was horrified... he thought the constant brain probings were bad... 

"That's not the worst of it," Zim growled and moved back against the wall. 

"What else did they do to you...?" 

"...I don't want to say..." 

Dib felt more curious, and risked venturing further, "No, tell me. It might help to get it off your chest." 

"Stupid logic." 

"Come on..." 

"Its embarrassing, leave me alone!" 

Dib sighed and sat next to Zim, "I guess you want to get out of here as badly as I do then..." He changed the subject, feeling Zim's resistance too strong. 

"What are they doing to you?" 

"I'm not having vivatopsies or anything... they're messign with my brain. Sometimes I'm awake too though... then they push... and push... until it happens again..." 

"You mean that thing you did at skool?" 

"Yeah. Telekinesis. I wish I could have been able to control it then... I'm just brginning to now. But they don't know that... they force me to do it,a nd it hurts... before, during,a nd after." 

"What made you do it, anyway?" 

"I think it was something you said.. I don't really remember." 

"I wonder why it bothered you so much... You don't really strike me as the type of person to care what other people thought of you anyway.." 

"What did you say..." Dib closed his eyes, trying to recall that day... 

"Why don't you just admit you're an alien?" 

"Why don't you just admit that you're gay?" 

"What the hell kind of question is that?" 

"Well no girl with good eyes would be with you!" 

Dib didn't even know why that would bother him... 

"Maybe I was having a bad day or something." 

"Maybe..." 

"Zim," Dib looked over at the alien hopefully, "Can we work together, just this once?" 

"What do you have planned?" Zim decided to stay safe and give him no direct answer just yet... 

"Let's break out of here..." 

"You're so desperate as to ask me for help?" 

"Yes..." 

"I've tried.. it's not easy... but you're right... we need more than one person." 

"Okay." 

"Then we have a temperary truce..." 

"Only until we can get out of here." 

"Dib reached a hand out towards Zim. At first Zim didn't know what Dib was doing, until he remembered that this was how humans confirmed agreements. Zim took Dib's hand in his own, giving it a smooth shake. Both letting go immediately as they heard the chamber doors unlock. 

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Hah... I know.. it's a new fic.. but you have to start cliff-hangers somewhere, don't you? More fun this way... I'll just have you wanting more ^^ 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Dib or Zim, so please realise that I am NOT jhonen Vasquez coming to share pretty stories of insanity. 

Author's note: Okay, I'm back with chapter two... I like how this fic is going, what does everyone think about it? I barely got reviews for the first fic O-o; but that wont stope me, cause pther people cant determine how much you like your own fics, and since I really like this one, I am going to write it even if I dont get any reviews :P! 

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Dib shot a nervous glance towards the alien in-mate before staring blankly at the unexpected visitor. It was a girl, only slightly shorter than Dib himself. Her eyes were hidden behind the painted glare, and her hair had grown since the last time he'd seen her. Her violet hair hung down slightly past her shoulders. 

"Gaz? What are you doing here?" He questioned her as he stood to greet her properly. He regretted it soon after as his brain fogged with dizziness. 

She said nothing until she had walked right up towards her brother, the glare never softening. She completely ignored the all-but-trembling alien sitting in the corner. "Dib, you're such an idiot, you know." 

"Thanks Gaz, I missed you too. Why are you here?" 

"Do you even know what they are doing to you?" 

"Of course I do! They _are_ doing it to me, you know." 

"But do you know what they're doing to you?" He shook his head slowly, "You moron... Don't you understand? You're nothing but a test subject to them, they'll kill you." 

"They won't kill me, they need me..." 

"So you agree with what they are doing? You don't feel any pain from it? Don't you see that it will only get worse?" 

"Don't you think I've thought of that, Gaz?! I know I feel worse everyday. Why do you think I try to escape?" 

"You can't escape, Dib. Neither can Zim," She finally seemed to acknowledge the presence of the alien. 

"Why can't we then?" Zim glared up at the pessimistic human. 

"Because you've both been tagged...." 

"How do you know all of this?" Dib butted in again. 

"Dad told me... he says he's sorry for all of this. It wasn't his idea. He sent me to help get you out. This will be the only time I can talk verbally about it, dad made sure that the verbal recording devices were malfunctioning today." 

"So we can't talk about it?" 

"Not after seven o'clock this evening. Dad and I will take care of everything, so don't worry about it. I'll keep in touch with one or both of you, but dad wants you out of here as much as you do." 

"Why can't he just tell them to let me go?!" 

"If he did that, he'd lose his job..." 

"His job has always come first..." 

Dib winced as he felt a hand slap across his cheek, "Don't be so blind! He has to keep his job so he can get you out of here. If he told them to let you go, there will be no one on the inside to help us out." 

Dib looked down on the ground and nodded... it wasn't fair to speak of his father like that, "Why did you wait this long?" 

"We had to get around suspiscions. One other thing, if you want to talk together about the whole plan, you're safe using your mind speach in here, they have yet discovered something to intercept messeges that way," She looked down at her watch, "i have to go, it's almost seven. I'll be back tomorrow." She turned to leave. 

"Wait!" She turned back, "Thanks Gaz, I really owe you one..." he walked over to her as steady as possible to give her a hug. 

"Yes, you do owe me, and if you hug me again, I'll change my mind about the whole thing." Dib let go of his sister but laughed. He really did miss her. 

When the door shut once more, Zim's antennae perked up, "Mind-speach? You said nothing of that..." 

_:Well you never asked about it.:_ Dib grinned at him. Zim heard Dib's voice as if Din had spoken to him, but he did not see Dib'd lips move. He heard an echo inside his mind as every word hung. 

"How do you do that?" 

_:I can't explain it... it just comes naturally. I talked to Gaz like this a lot when we were little. I'm surprised that she remembered.. Gosh it has to have been about twelve or thirteen years since I used it...:_

Zim raised an eyebrow, "Can you read my mind then?" He gave a threatening glare. 

_:I'm not that powerful yet, Zim. I can't read minds unless they are very opened to me.... but if you think loud enough, I might be able to pick it up. That's how I talked to Gaz. Go on, try to think something. You'll have to trust me a little though, or it won't work.:_

Zim glared a bit still, then decided to give it a try... it was his only chance to talk in secret with him anyhow... 'How's this?' 

_:That's good... you're coming in a little soft though... that should be expected because you don't trust me... it causes interference because you're still trying to block me out, even when you want to tell me something.:_

'Well that won't change anytime soon.' 

_:I'm not expecting it to.:_

'So your sister's going to help get us out of here... I wonder if it will work... Where are those transmitters anyway?' 

_:Probably somewhere inside of us or soemthing...:_

'Yes, you're probably right. So until they can get the transmitters off, all we can do is plan...' 

_:Yes, guess so.:_ Dib looked around and staggered over to a bunk bed, crawling into the bottom bunk and sighing. 

'Going to bed?' Zim asked silently as he followed and climbed up to the top bunk, 'Don't humans usually prefer to sleep on the top?' 

_:Yes, I guess that's true. I don't feel like climbing up there right now.. unless you have a bed wetting problem, I should be okay.:_

'What is this bed-wetting?' 

_:Nevermind Zim...:_

'No, tell me! I must know of this weapon!' 

_:Weapon?:_

'Water is wet, therefore if the bed gets wet, I must know how!' 

_:It means you piss all over yourself when you sleep...:_

'Ew...' 

_:Got that right.:_ Dib chuckled to himself... it was so much easier to talk with Zim when they were using their minds instead of their voices for some reason. 

Zim got himself situated in the bed, wincing when he pulled a certain cut a bit too far. Taking a hissing breath, he readjusted himself and closed his eyes. 

Both boys fell asleep in total silence, both filled with hopes and fears of tomorrow. Some day soon, they would be on their day of freedom, but tomorrow would just be another day of pain. 

  
  
~Next Morning~  
  


Things were normal enough at the morning. The guards brought food for Dib, bringing nothing to Zim. Dib had noticed Zim's thinness when he first saw him in the cell the day before, but he had no idea that he wasn't fed properly. 

"Why didn't you get any breakfast, Zim?" 

"They don't know what I eat..." 

"Why don't you tell them?" 

Zim rolled his red eyes as if the answer was obvious. Dib just looked at him blankly as ever, "Then they'd be getting information about my race. I can't risk the lives of the Armada for soemthing as trivial as food." 

"The Armada?" Dib's curious face leaned inches away from Zim's, "What's that? If you're hungry, don't hesitate to take some of my food, I'm not really that hungry anyway. 

"It's none of your business, human!" Zim snapped with a glare, then sighed, "I won't eat your food either, an Irken can go a while without food." 

"Like a snake? You have to eat sometime, I'm not going to eat it anymore so help yourself. It's your food now." Dib pushed the tray over to Zim, he had barely touched anything. He drank half of the orange juice, one piece of the toast had been eaten as well as a few bites of eggs... the bacon remained untouched. 

Zim eyed the food suspiciously, looking at Dib. Dib shrugged and started to put on his shows. When Dib turned away, Zim greedily grabbed the tray and shoveled the food up into his mouth eagarly. An Irken could survive for a long time without food... but not comfortably. 

Dib grinned to himself as he watched his newly found partner finish his breakfast out of the corner of his eye. Dib ignored his own hunger, deciding to only eat half of each meal that he's given until they were free. He didn't need his partner to die before they could escape. 

Zim belched greatfully and stretched out on the floor. The moment of comfort was short-lived when the door to the cell was opened, a few scientists coming in and cuffing Dib's hands behind him. Zim glared at the humans treating Dib, another human, as if he was some kind of animal, "What are you doing to him?" He had noticed Dib had finally started talking and walking normally too. 

The scientists, and Dib, stood and stared at Zim in disbelief. Dib stared because he didn't think Zim would care... perhaps comrades in a soldier's eyes were more valuable than friends. The scientists stared at Zim because none of them had ever heard the alien speak a word of English. 

"So it is true..." one of the scientists, the one holding Dib stated baffled. 

"The alien does speak English," the second growled to herself, "He was playing dumb all along." 

"We'll just tell the others our discovery." 

Zim growled, his eyes opening slightly more as he heard Dib's voice in his mind once more, _:Why did you just do that, Zim?:_ forgetting for a moment that Dib was capable of this... 

'Nevermind that, human... see if you can contact me later in the other room...' 

_:I don't know if it will be strong enough...:_

'Anything is worth a try to keep our minds off of pain...' 

_:True... I'll try my best...:_ with that, the scientists left the alien in the cell alone, leading Dib into the normal room they did the tests in... 'So... Zim wants someone to keep his mind off the tests... I can't blame him. I hope it works... I don't want to get his hopes up for nothing.' 

Dib looked around him.. now is as good of a time as any,,,, he had been wasting time destracting himself by thinking about it for long enough... _:Zim? can you hear me?:_

Zim grimaced as the human scientists came to get him, he knew what was thext. The white room and silver table. He shuddered to himself. At first it wasn't so bad, they'd have him preform meaningless tasks for them, but as the days went by, they began more instense experimentations. 

Zim didn't even try to get away as the scientists dragged him along, he'd learned that the scientists tended to make more "mistakes" when they were mad at him. 

Zim growled... why hadn't Dib tried to contact him yet? Was Dib's own tests even worse, or was their connection just too weak to get across...? 

'So the strength is based on trust? I guess it would make sense if it doesn't reach me... How can I trust someone who wanted me to go through this? He told me that wasn't really what he wanted, but how can I be so sure?' 

'He's the only human that's said the name Zim in half a year... it does feel good to be recognized as a person again...' Zim yelped as he felt an electric shock charge through his body. His eyes widened in pain... he hadn't even realised that the tests had started. 

Zim growled to himself, 'As soon as I get out of here... I swear none of them will know what freedom is again...' 

One of Zim's antennar quirked a bit as he heard a distant voice... 'Dib?' he thought, trying to keep the thought as strong as he felt another bolt of pain ring through him. 

_:Zim? Can you hear me?:_ the voice was slightly louder and he could hear the sounds of strain in Dib's mind-voice. 

'Yes! I can hear you Dib, can you...' his thoughts were cut short. 

_:Zim? Please answer... I can't hear you.:_

Zim glared off into the whitness around him, trying to think louder, 'Dib! I can hear you!' 

_:If you can hear me, try to open up a little... I won't look at anything private.... You'll just have to trust me.:_

Zim yelped once more as another electric charged plagued through his aching body, a voice sounding on the speakers, "Answer the question, alien, we know you can speak English! What's the name of your race? Tell us or we'll just find the answer of how much voltage you can withstand!" 

Zim shuddered again... he knew he shouldn't have spoken infront of those scientists... His stubbornness kept him from telling the humans what they wanted to hear, instead he closed his eyes and concentrated on Dib... sure he could trust him... more than these scientists, right? He needed to get the pain out of his head... 'Dib! I can hear you!' 

_:Woah! Zim, not so loud okay? I can still only handle certain volumes.... that hurt you know... what took so long?:_

'Sorry...' 

_:Don't worry about it. You sound tired, what's going on?:_

'The usual, they want me to tell them the name of my race and all....' Zim shut his eyes tighter as he felt yet another surge of electricity go through him, feeling parts of his skin tear beneath the intensity... 

_:Ouch, what was that?:_

'You could feel it?' 

_:Of course I could... I am inside your mind right now. You really got open all of a sudden, but don't worry... I respect privacy.:_

'That's what pain does to a person...' 

_:I understand.:_

'How are your tests going along?' 

_:Nothing brutal yet, but I will have to stop talking to you when they start going over my brain and all.:_

'I am aware of this...' 

Dib sighed as he watched the scientists scamper around the room, getting thigs ready. It was tempting to poke around in Zim's mind a little bit, especially when he remembered the incident that happened when he got the photographs of Zim.... He had found them a month or so later, anyway.. but decide to keep them instead of turning them in just yet. He did respect privacy though. 

_:Zim, I think they are about to start the tests... Zim? You there, Zim?:_

Zim would have answered, had he not been in the middle of a high-voltage, long-lasting electroshock. He felt his eyes roll back in his head... he couldn't feel or hear Dib anywhere in his mind anymore.... his body shut itself down under the extreme conditions, and he fell limp on the table. 

_:Zim? Are you alright?:_

Dib was getting a bit worried, but he couldn't do anything. He figured that the intensity of Zim's tests were too much for him. Dib sighed, Zim would contact him when everything was good again..... he hoped that would be soon. 

Dib's mind ran through a few ideas as he thought to himself, perhaps he should try contacting someone else.. someone who may be able to help... _:Gaz? Can you hear me?:_

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Author's note2: Hey again.. I hope I am not going far out of character... remember that they have been through a lot in the last half-year... they will be a bit different... Zim's lost a bit of his arrogance, and Dib's lost a bit of his hatred now that Zim's not after the world anymore... not to mention he sees Zim as a canidate of friendship... and he sees his own people as the ones giving him the abuse and mistreatment where Zim maintains his view on Dib as Dib is a human being. Wouldn't you think they'd get along a little bit? 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys.. I am a little tired, but i will do my best to keep the typos to a minimum in this chapter.. i am not in the middle of roleplaying and having to read it off of a sheet of paper this time... but I am going on one half hour of sleep in the last 36 or so hours..... I will attempt to make this chapter seem as well as I intend it to, i apologize if it isnt. 

Disclaimer: I dont own Zim or Dib O-o 

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Gaz walked down the hallways of the large bio-chemical facility. She glared at passing by scientists, visions of the torturous things they do to people and animals alike running through her mind's eye. She kept her cool until she was inside of her father's office. Forgetting to knock, she waltzed right in. 

Professor Membrane was writing out some documentations when she arrived... he was hunched over a short desk without a chair. His dark hair streaked with silver stayed stiffly in place. The wrinkles on the sides of his eyes from his obvious lack of sleep showed signs of his ageless face losing it's youthful glow. He looked up at his daughter with tired eyes hidden behind super-thick glasses that could also be used as goggles even though they were perscription. He set his pen down and stood straight, "Hello Gaz, did you visit your brother?" He asked, not the kind to beat around the bush. 

"Yes I did, dad. And he expects us to be quick about this whole thing, though I don't blame him... if my own father was the leader of the department doing excruciating tests on me, I wouldn't be too patient either." Gaz looked down at her father's desk, her eyes skimming over the tops of various scientific magazines and books. 

"Do you still think I wanted this to happen?" Doctor Membrane slumped his shoulders slightly and ran his hands down his lab-coat to smooth out the wrinkles, trying to avoid lookign his own daughter in the eyes. He had gotten used to the distant look in her eyes long before the whole mess started, but ever since it had things only became worse. He knew that his children were independant of him, and he knew that is was his fault... years of guilt and lost sleep were finally catching up with him. 

"No. I know better than that, but your son doesn't know whether to trust you or not yet." Her fingers ran across the smoothly laminated covers... her father was the model on almost every one of them. It was her father almost a year ago, looking young and proud. He wasn't anything like the man she stood before now. She glanced up, glaring in his direction because of his cowardly hiding from his own daughter's gaze. 

"Well... perhaps _this_ will change his mind!" Professor Membrane reached into his deep lab-coat pocket and pulled out a small metalic device and held it in one hand, holding it out for Gaz. 

"That's all good... but what is it?" Gaz's eyes fixed on the small object in her father's hand and she raised an eyebrow. She studied it with red contacted eyes. Over the years she had grown tired of the need to squint to see anything in it's true form, so she had taken the time to go to the eye doctor, they recogmended glasses... she wasn't the type to wear glasses, so instead she got herself an assortment of contact lenses. Today's pair were red, but tomorrow she could come by with skulls, crosses, black, green, or clear to show her lavender eyes. 

"Well.. inside of it is a duplica of the tracking device that is hidden inside Dib, though I don't know where they put it yet.... they have one inside of his Mexican friend too. And not only that... it can be used as a stun-gun in emergencies..... but tell him only to use it in an emergency.. they will take it away if they know he has it... it is undetectable by the sensors they have up." 

"Really?" Gaz reached over to take the small chip-like box from her father's gloved hand. She twirled the cool, metal box in her hand slowly, "I'll make sure he gets it.. when I visit him later." 

"Good... now you must run along Gaz. I have some work to do, and a meeting to be at in ten minutes.." He father fidgetted slightly with obvious discomfort at being in the presence of his teenage daughter... Gaz understood though because they never spent much quality time together when she was younger. Sometimes it was hard for her to acknowledge that the man she was standing with was in actuality her father. She knew that Dib felt the same way. She could relate with hime because they grew up together... there was no doubt that he was the only family that she truly had after the incident with their mother and all... 

"Whatever... see you tomorrow, dad." She shook the thoughts from her head and shoved the small chip into her pocket. 

"Yes, see you then.." Professor Membrane resumed his status of shuffling through the papers and finding the correct ones to read and work on.... Gaz sighed to herself and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She looked down the cold hallway and glared at its emptiness.. it reminded her of the emptiness that she saw in her brother. She closed her eyes and remembered the days that Dib was free... they weren't physically close but she could still see the life in his eyes, especially when he was around Zim. There was something about Zim that kept her brother going... she was jealous at first because Dib had something to go after, a dream in life to fulfill and it wasn't along side of her. She was so used to her brother being around her at every turn, and them depending on one another with no one else to intervene. She was jealous because Dib found someone else... and because someone else was taking her only brother away from her. "Stupid Dib," she grumbled to herself and started to walk on through the hall once more. 

_:Gaz? Can you hear me?:_

Gaz looked around her to find the source of her brother's voice and grinned when she realised that it was from mind-speech... 

_:Yeah Dib, I can hear you...:_

_:Gaz? You're coming in a lot louder than I expected.. how close are you?:_

_:It's not a matter of being close.... Dib, I thin k I should tell you a little something...:_

Dib raises his eyebrow from where he sat... one reason being that his sister seemed to have a secret she was actually willing to share.. the other reason because the scientists around him are acting a little stranger than normal... they are pointing at a computer screen infront of them and making little exasperated comments... comments that he couldn't quite hear from their hushed tones. 

_:You aren't the only one that can use your mind, Dib...:_

_:You can use your mind like me?! Since when?:_ His mind-voice seemed a bit excited and tinted with an emotion that she couldn't quite pinpoint... fear perhaps. But fear of what? Was he afraid that he wasn't the only one, or was he afraid that she would get into a situation as he is as well. 

_:It's a stupid story.... I'll tell you about it later...:_Gaz leaned against the wall in the hallway, she crossed her arms over her chest, unwilling to admit that the way she found out she had powers was because of an accident that she had when she saw Dib being taken by the science-maniacs for testing and research.... She was unwilling to admit that she wanted to protect her brother as much as he used to protect her when they were young children... 

_:Okay... tell me later then.... I don't think I can talk for much longer, they are getting ready for the tests now.:_

_:At least tell me why you decided to bother me...:_

_:It's Zim. I can't tell if he's alright, can you check him out for me? You know where his tests are held, right?:_

_:Yeah, I know where they are held, dont worry. I'll check on your little boyfriend...:_

_:He's not my boyfriend Gaz, haven't we been over this? He's an alien...:_

_:That's exactly why he makes a perfect match with you...:_

_:Oh shut up, Gaz. Just check up on him...:_

_:Not if you're going to talk like that to me...:_

_:Look, sorry! I dont have much time, just check up on him... And I'll try to contact you later:_

_:No, I will come to your cell later... I'll talk to you then...:_ Gaz cut off the connection she had with her older brother and began her way down the hall once more... 

In the testing room, Dib sighed to himself. So much for that... he'll still be worried until tonight. He watched the scientists with untrusting eyes as they walked closer to him... how did Gaz get powers like his anyway? Are they hereditary? Dib's mind wandered as he let trains of thought come onto rail and run through his mind with many strange answers that could be the reason for all of these terrible things for happening in his life. He jumped when he felt a prick on his finger... he looked down and saw a small dot of blood oozing from the puncture. 

Dib closed his eyes, he found it much easier to ignore physical pain and discomfort when he was thinking of other things. Sometimes he would come up with ideas for poetry that he would write down in his cell later on, other times he would come up with answers to some of the questions that plagued his consciousness. Today's topic however was Zim. He figured that mental worry would work exceptionally well for him. He wondered what exactly the scientists did to Zim.. what they were doing to Zim now... he wondered so hard.... 

Dib's eyes shot opened when he felt a strong volt of electricity charge through his body. He looked up at scientists he didn't recognize. He bit down on his lip to keep from screaming... sharp teeth going straight through skin. 

"Now that you are awake, tell us the information we require... things will go over much easier for you if you tell us. What is the name of your race?" A woman scientist glared down at him, her long hair cascading down her back in amber curls, held up by a single black bow. 

'My race?' He thought to himself, "I'm human... didnt you know?" He heard a scream of agony as they voltage began to charge through him.. it sounded like Zim.. he looked around for the alien, trying to fight the pain... it took him a moment to realise that he was the one voicing the screams... but they didn't sound like him. He looked down at his hand... green? This was too weird... the pain was too great to be real... his body fell as the volts let out of him once more.... he must be dreaming. 

"No more games, tell us alien..." The same woman stepped a little closer to him, she was still glaring, "If you won't tell us the information, we wil have to find out things ourselves." She held a glittering bit of silver in her right hand. 

'Alien? Green skin? Zim? How did this happen...?' Dib stared up at the scientist, fear evident in his red pink-pupiled eyes. He felt the cold sting of metal press on his chest. He clenched his strapped-down fists and gritted his teeth, holding his breath against the smooth pain of his chest being sliced... he held himself back from screaming.... he knew that Zim wouldn't scream about something like this. He had to keep Zim's honor, even if Zim really did need to let go of his egotistic attitude.   
  


~Meanwhile~  
  


Zim opened his eyes and reached a hand up to rub one of them... he was surprised that his hand actually obeyed him and wasnt restrained from use like it usually was. He was also surprised when his hand came in contact with cool metal over his eyes. He stared a bit at the pale-peach flesh of his hand... "What happened..." he mumbled to himself and gawked at how much he sounded like the Dib-human. 

"What happened, Dib? you were about to discharge your powers and all of a sudden you went back to zero. What happened?! If I was you, I would get that power back up to a usable level before we get angry..." 

Zim glared at the human speaking to Dib.. speaking to him. He crossed his arms over his chest... 'Dib? How did this happen? This must be a strange dream or something, I can't be Dib...' Zim looked around the room once more. Computers decorated the entire room, connected to himself were strange wires stuck with some sort of adhesive substance. 

Zim could feel something in his mind probing about, almost like a parasite. He closed his eyes against the sensation.... it was growing though.... feeding off of his discomfort. He kept his eyes closed in attempts to ignore it. The more that Zim tried, the more this feeling seemed to increase. As if it was growing because of his restraints... he couldnt control it, because he'd never felt a feeling like this before. By the ache in his mind, he knew he was about to let it go... whatever tjis sensation was. He was utterly unprepared, and opened his eyes suddenly when it was finally over. The main power-lines to the computers blew into miniscule explosion, leaving every computer monitor shadowed with blackness. 

He winced when it was over, pain flowing through his mind... he felt a hand hit against the back od his head, but he hardly noticed the pain because inside was much greater. 

Something had happened.. something wasn't right... he was inside of Dib's body and not his own. This musht be what Dib felt like last night and whenever he had his mind move things... this must be why he always collapsed.   
  


~  
  


After the excruciating tests, Dib was taken back to the cell in a rather rough manner, he was thrown down onto the floor of the cell and left to get up on his own. He felt the blood on his chest. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around his knees, embracing them in need of comfort. He felt his body rock to and fro and he looked at his hand covered in purple blood that was so dark it could easily be mistaken for black. He was cold... and he longed for some source of heat... anything to be warm. 

After about an hour of being in the cold cell all alone, he felt something on the top of his head move as he heard the door open. He reached up and felt the smooth skin of antennae between his fingers and stared as he saw himself taken into the cell. 

As soon as the scientists left, Dib watched himself sit and put his hands over his eyes. Then something in his mind clicked... he let out a small, squeaky.. "Zim..?" 

Zim looked over and glared towards Dib... he knew that it was him, who else could it be? "Whatever you did... change it back." He fixed his trench-coat to stay on him comfortably and then rubbed the side of his head in attempts to ease the ache. 

"I don't know what I did... and I can't use telepathy anymore... I've tried it. I think you have my abilities now.. you're going to have to find a way to get us back to normal..." Dib let his hand go back down and away from the appendages on top of his head, feeling them droop down with instinct. 

Zim's eyes wudened and stared back at Dib in disbelief... he was going to have to change them bac? How was he going to go about doing that when he didnt even know how it happened int he first place... or how to use his mind like Dib did. He stared down at the slate floor. 

"Zim... why is it so cold...? Are you always this cold...?" 

"Yes... except when I am outside. Irkens need heat to survive.. well not too much, but enough. So I know how you're feeling. There is a way to produce enough heat for yourself.... but I guess you don't really know how to do that..." he continued when Dib shook his head, "I can't let my body die before I can get back in it to kick your ass for getting us into this situation.... so come over here." 

Dib crawled over towards Zim obediently, feeling rather dizzy as he did so... anything to get warm. He jumped when he felt Zim's arms slide around him, starting to hold him there against his body.... he didn't say anything, because he felt life slowly come back to his numb body... he leaned into the embrace, mindlessly greedy for more of this feeling of life. He closed his eyes and rested. 

"I don't suppose you know how to get rid of the headache..." when Dib gave him a grunted reply instead of'yes' or 'no' he snickered. He looked down at the green body in his arms. If felt strange.. without seeing his face, it was like holding another Irken... not himself. He had to respect Dib now... he was in the body of the superior.... and Zim was just another human worm-baby. 

Zim held Dib close for himself.. not for Dib. He wanted to preserve his body's health... it wasn't because Dib felt uncomfortable.. at least that is what he tried to assure himself. He rested his head down over Dib's and closed his eyes. It sure felt nice to have physical contact with someone... he had wondered what it was like ever since he was little.. and it was nice. Even nicer than he had expected. 

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it!!! It took me three days to finish it because I wasnt at home most of the time.... well hardly any of the time... well have fun, the next chapter will be up sometime int he near future... prolly after I update some other things though 9.9 but it WILL be up. 


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